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[miko2]

Today's Song: The Pilgrim's Gone by Tengwar

Tengwar is the Tolkien-influenced folk metal band from Chile that I came across this weekend. They only have a 2-song demo cd out; you can't find them on iTunes or Amazon.com or eMusic or Youtube. However, you can download their two songs for free from their web site. They're pretty good, mixing power metal with folk music passages that are not just a bit of flute over guitars. I'm not sure they're using actual folk instruments here, it may just be a synthesizer, but it sounds a bit like an accordian or hurdy-gurdy, which is a nice change of pace. (Actually, if I would just bother to check their web site out, I'd see that the band includes a fiddle player, a flautist, and a tin whistle player. We have legitimate folk metal, bueno!)

In case you didn't get the Tolkien connection (Tengwar is the name of his Elvish script), their web site is decorated with Tolkien-Elvish writing. You know, subtle as only a heavy metal band can be.

I lied. You can find them on Youtube: Tengwar - Marching South (This would be the other song on their demo cd.)

And since we're on the subject of world folk metal, here's a few more from unusual places:

Echo of Dalriada - Teli enek (Hungarian folk metal) Oh, my goodness! I really, really like these guys! And I can order them off Ebay... just what I need, more music to put on my wish list (I already ordered a few cds this weekend, I don't need to order more). (Hmmm... seems you can also download a few tracks from their web site, including this one. Very slow download, mind you.)
Alkonost - Years of Prophecy (Russian black folk metal)
Borknagar - Gods of My World (Norwegian black folk metal)